05/10/2021
What did Jesus say about the coming of the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, that should thrill our souls? He told us that the Spirit would not only glorify Him, but declare Him to us. In the Spirit we will see and know Jesus clearly, and will also receive those things that God the Father has given to Jesus. Are we ready to glorify God, and through our belief and faith in Jesus to receive what God gave Him to be His? Can we even comprehend what this means?
“He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”
John 16:14 ESV
Jesus promised us the Holy Spirit, not in some small measure, but without any measure whatsoever. Does it frighten us to receive such power and responsibility? I remember the first time I sat behind the wheel of a car... I was excited beyond description, and yet I put on a brave face, because I would be lying to you if I told you that I wasn’t afraid. An automobile accident can be horrific, and the thought of traveling at such speed into a tree or some other object really scared me. So I took lessons at my high school. This helped a bit as I drove around the school parking lot and studied the traffic laws, but it all seemed so overwhelming... could I really do this? Finally the day came for me to drive on the city streets, and interstates, of the Washington D.C. area, and my knuckles turned white as I clutched the steering wheel, but as I sat there terrified in the driver’s seat it was such a comfort to hear my instructor’s voice in the seat beside me saying “OK, Relax. We have been over this before, and I am right here beside you.” His words gave me confidence in what I had been taught, and I turned the wheel towards the street. Sure enough, I was able to drive, and as the years passed by I became more, and more, at ease as I did so.
God’s Holy Spirit is a lot like that automobile. The power is amazing, but instead of the few hundred horsepower that we have in an automobile, the Spirit is like riding a Saturn rocket at full speed from the curb outside your home, through heavy traffic, and around corners, to a destination across town. But as daunting as this might seem, we hear that comforting voice beside us saying “Fear not, for I am with you.”
“For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”
John 3:34-36 ESV
After we have become used to traveling by the Spirit, and listening to Him has become comforting to us, there are still times in our spiritual lives when we will be frightened. Sometimes the Spirit reveals God’s Will to us and it is beyond our comfort zone. God is asking us to take an adventure in faith that really shakes and frightens us...
A couple of years after I had learned to drive my father bought me an older model sport’s car with a standard transmission. Up until this time I had only driven cars equipped with automatic transmissions that shifted the gears for me. Suddenly, that old familiar fear was back, but I knew that my father would teach me how to drive it, and that thought calmed me down.
When the day came to go get my car at the dealership I was really excited! I was so excited that I didn’t realize that as we drove across town there were only two of us in the car. It didn’t Dawn on me that if there were two people, and two cars, there would only be one person in each for the trip home. So, on the way my dad went over how to press the clutch, shift gears, and smoothly release the clutch to engage them. I smiled and listened to every word, but when he threw me the keys to my new car, told me he would meet me at the house, and drove away, I was in shock! Sometimes God gives us a challenge in our walk with Him, and when it comes we are caught off guard, but there is always prayer!
“But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.””
Matthew 19:26 ESV
Somehow I managed to bunny hop the car to the street, and within a few streets, and a couple of stalls, I felt I had it down... then came that first terrifying stop on a hill, and several frantic attempts to get going without rolling back into the car behind me! Amazingly I reached home that day without having an accident, but there were many prayers along the way! We all have those times in our walk of faith in which God throws us the keys and says I’ll see you at the house, but just as I remembered every word my earthly father told me about shifting gears, we will remember God’s Word, and it will keep ringing in our ears as its wisdom, and knowledge, will manage to get us home on that day as well! Albeit, there will be many prayers along the way.
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”
James 1:5 ESV
So here we are; we have accepted God as our LORD, Jesus as our Savior, and we are now surrounded by God’s Holy Spirit who can go from zero to one hundred mph in... well, we are there already! We suddenly find ourselves with everything that God gave Jesus when He was walking the earth, and it frightens us to think that someone as weak and imperfect as we are have been given the keys to such amazing power, but always remember that we are not given anything that isn’t necessary to do God’s Will. He instructs us in His Word, has prepared us in Christ, and now leads us in the Spirit... we have never been alone, and aren’t alone now. Divine help is only a prayer away.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for this incredible journey of faith you have us walking each day. Thank you for each step that we take because you have prepared us to make those strides. Thank you now for your Holy Spirit, and the power you gave Jesus, that same power you gave Him, and that we have received from Him through your Spirit. Sometimes you hold our hand as we walk, often it is Jesus who walks beside us, but incredibly you often let us walk with only the remembrance of these things, and the power, and direction, we have been given by your Holy Spirit. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who is forever with us, and guards our every step. Praised be your name for the remarkable things you use us to do, and for the glory you receive through them. Your grace flows through Jesus and pours out upon us Father, and in this way alone, by faith, and grace, we come to know you, and worship you in Spirit and Truth. Wash us in the blood of Jesus as you forgive us all sin, and strengthen us in your Spirit as you empower us to do your will, even as you asked Jesus to do. Use our humility, and weakness, to balance the unbridled power of Christ that you entrusted to us, and never totally remove the fear we have of failing you, for this is a sign of the love a child has for its Father.
“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV
Rich Forbes